…and the birth of astrophotography.

The earliest known photograph of the Moon was taken by John William Draper in 1839 or 1840. Draper, an Englishman by birth, was a chemistry professor at New York University at the time. This silver platinum plate of the Moon was the first of a series he shot through his telescope.

First known photograph of the moon

From this: Probably the first photograph of the moon, 1839

 

In 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of the farthest galaxy ever discovered,  the dwarf galaxy z8_GND_5296. Since far=old (that’s 13.1 billion years old), it also holds the record for the oldest object ever photographed using visible light.

To this: A photo of the farthest galaxy ever discovered, 2013.

To this: A photo of the farthest galaxy ever discovered, 2013.